The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been known for their smash-mouth style of football, built around a strong running game. During the team’s decades of greatness, they have had some of the best in the business, including Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Jerome Bettis, Wille Parker and Le’Veon Bell.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris
It is why it wasn’t much of a surprise when the team drafted superstar running back, Najee Harris out of the University of Alabama in 2021 with their first-round pick. Harris was highly touted out of college and finished his career as the all-time leader at Alabama in rushing yards with 3,843, total scrimmage yards with 4,624, and touchdowns with 57.
Pittsburgh Steelers RB Comparison: Najee Harris and Le’Veon Bell
On his show, The Arthur Moats Experience, Moats compared Harris to former Steeler phenom, Bell. He is asked and answers the question: could Harris be better than Bell?
Moats admits that he is a bit biased toward Bell as they were actual teammates for a few years. He adds that it depends on what you are considering a player's “ceiling.” Are you looking at a comparison of their one best season or their total body of work? Moats feels that based on that distinction, it changes who he sees at the top:
“I really enjoy watching Naj’s game, I love the physical element that he plays with. I even love his story, but athletically, they’re just two different people. To me L-Bell is a freak athlete, I just don’t know if Najee is capable of that. But he could still be just a dope running back in a physical right.”
Peter Diana, Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell.
It is tough to compare anyone to Bell at his best. During his second season with the Steelers in 2014, he had a combined total of 2,200 yards and made the Pro Bowl. But trouble seemed to follow Bell and he missed several games over the next two seasons for drug-related suspensions and injuries. In 2017, he led the league with 321 carries for 1,291 yards and made the Pro Bowl once again.
Unfortunately, Bell never seemed to be satisfied. He refused to sign the franchise tag with the Steelers in 2018 and sat out the whole season. Fans were benign to get disillusioned with their former hero. Bell seemed to chase money the next year and signed with the New York Jets, but was never as successful there as he was in Pittsburgh. He was out of the league at the end of 2021.
Moats notes that Harris could have more longevity than Bell and thus be a better back in the overall sense of the word:
“[Harris'] game could definitely age differently, or age more well, because of the style that he plays. But it is a double-edged sword because he’s a physical running back. You only got so many hits you can take.”
There are other factors that go into determining the success of a RB's career, including postseason performance and Super Bowl wins. Moats and his co-host Deke point out that Harris might surpass Bell’s overall body of work if he is able to stay healthy and play the majority of the games each season.
Moats also mentions that because of Bell’s antics, he fell out of favor with a lot of fans, and that colors the way we view his contributions. But Moats credits him with changing the way the NFL utilizes RB's.
“Granted he was still crazy, but he can do it all: run it, passing, pass blocking, and then you think about how he just changed the way we looked at running backs hitting the hole. We used to call that tippy-toeing. We used to say a running back was scared if he was stopped like how L-Bell would run. I think he gets a bad rap because of how he left and people will try to minimize what he was doing.”
He does say that he has one big concern about the game that Harris plays vs the game that Bell played:
“My big concern with Najee in terms of longevity: he gets hit. Remember we talked about that, L-Bell never got hit, L-Bell got dragged down at times and that was how he would get the knees and people pulling at him. Naj gets hit, you see Naj take shots. I don’t know how many of those you’re gonna take. I know defenders, we hit you, we try to put you to sleep, we try to really mess you up. He gets those types of hits a lot.”
Harris had an outstanding rookie year with 1,200 rushing yards, but a slow start to his sophomore season. Injury rumors swirled as well as debates about play-calling and the offensive line. Regardless of the reasons for the early struggles for Harris, the whole offense improved as the season went on and he finished with 1,034 yards.
Where do you weigh in on the debate? Bell or Harris? Who will have the better overall career? How much does a Super Bowl win change your perception if Harris participates in one? Click to comment below.
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